My diet is appalling, anyone else?

How did your food shop go? I have been fairly good today and had soup and homemade spag bol, DH definitely did too much spaghetti though.

Sounds like you are addicted to Ultra-processed foods, OP (join the club - much of the UK and US are!)

I recommend you read/ listen to a book called "Why We Eat (Too Much)" and also the ZOE Nutrition podcasts.

These will give you a good basic level of knowledge for nutrition and also probably motivate you because there's a lot of information about why the food you eat is basically killing you, and how to change.

My diet is really bad too, I have fibromyalgia and a lot of other health problems but I know my diet needs to change. I have activia yogurt for breakfast, homemade banana milkshake for lunch, I have a shop brought smoothie in the afternoon and then for evening meal it could be pasta with chicken or corned beef pasty, macdonalds, chippy, jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise and cheddar cheese, kfc, pizza but then I will eat like 1 pack of foxes cookies half cookie half chocolate and then I will eat a whole packet of foxes chocolate rings in total 17 biscuits can't seem to stop myself

Aspartame is in the same carcinogen class as mobile phones so I'd carry on drinking them if I were you.

Fizzy drinks I realised I like the sparkling sensation and cold. So I switched to sparkling water. Still not brilliant for teeth but betting overall

Hi op, how about trying a meal kit subscription for a week such as hello fresh or gousto to get back into the swing of cooking with fresh ingredients. You can then have the second portion for your next lunch. Then don't buy any snacks for the house for the week as your meals will be sorted.
If you like sweet porridge try adding a banana to it ? Maybe a bit of honey?

I was just like you, my diet was absolutely awful and I developed a terrible sugar addiction during the lockdowns. I’ve tried loads of different diets etc but nothing was lasting more than a couple of weeks then in the middle of June I read Allen Car’s book Good Sugar Bad Sugar and it’s been like someone has flipped a switch in my brain! I’ve just got back from a 2 week AI holiday and have not wanted to eat any desserts or ice cream or anything like that, I gained 3 lbs in the 2 weeks which has gone after about 5 days (last year I gained about a stone on holiday despite trying to be good!)

While I was away I read Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken which was also an eye opener! I don’t know if at some point I’ll end up back in my old ways but right now I don’t feel deprived or have any cravings for the sort of stuff I was eating before.

Think of eating healthily as your pension. Eating well will be a bonus as you approach your 50s and 60s....obesity, mobility, diabetes,bone density

I use Tik Tok for easy recipes I can cook from scratch. Has really helped me shake things up and get healthier. For me I'm not a fan of cooking with lots of ingredients, I want it to be simple and not too expensive to make. I now enjoy preparing new meals.

Healthy food can be convenient! Maybe concentrate on replacing the sugary things in your shop for healthier choices-might be pricier until you are ready to do some prep work yourself, though. Some ideas:
-bowl of easy peelers and apples in fridge
-pre-prepared baby carrots
-hummus or any kind of dip you like really, even if it's high calorie or super salty it is probably better than what you've been eating
-babybel cheeses
-pre-cooked chicken pieces
-salad 'kits' complete with dressing
-stir-fry kits with sauce
-Dash flavoured (but unsweetened) sparkling water I think has no sweeteners or artificial flavouring
Make it easy (yes, pricey) and gradually increase the number of things you make yourself.

I could have written this post myself. Age, diet, no smoking/drinking.
I am at a loss what to do, I've tried cutting things out and just can't. I do have 2 under 3 so am trying to cut myself some slack at the moment (although I've always been like this).
I use absolutely any excuse to eat badly (happy, unhappy, bad night sleep, stressed out....etc). I eat a lot of sugar 😔

I am the reverse OP, diet is good , I don't eat chocolate and rarely crisps- but I smoke and drink (maybe 1/2 a bottle of wine x 3 a week) - I have had some nasty health scares in last year and that's why my diet is now really good. Now to tackle the other habits!

I found the easiest thing for me was to make one meal a day something salad based but stick fishcakes on it or fish fingers or good quality chicken gougons - I'm not keen on salad without something with it.

Breakfast I now eat late at around 11am vary between porridge with banana and honey or berries , eggs and mushrooms on toast or a bowl of Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds.

I also use a lot of cauli rice at dinner and add curries or chilli or chicken cooked with stir fry veg and soy sauce and mix it all in- easy and nutritious and low cal too. I'm also gluten free, so this works for me.

I found your taste buds change after a while. I used to eat far too many toasties and sandwiches and pieces of cake when out - and ended up pre diabetic as well as 5 stone overweight.

Nothing wrong with porridge for breakfast or a toastie for lunch, but if you add some fruit to the porridge or an apple to the toastie then that’s better. Or a big chunk of cucumber is better still.

I think if you work out little upgrades you can make, with the healthier food that you don’t mind as much, then that’s a good place to start.

Make it easy. Tinned fruit in juice is good. Frozen peas. Throw some lentils into a pasta thing etc.

Mine is appalling too. I am so ashamed. I just eat crap, sugary stuff mainly, and not proper meals. Because I live alone and have no one else to cook for, I will literally eat mr Kipling for dinner.

Miraculously I am not fat (I have no idea how) but my teeth are fucked and I often feel quite tired.

I wish I could change but lack any kind of motivation.

Op. I would go to the doctor and get your visceral fat checked also. You might get a shock. I was shocked by my bmi when I went to the doctor.
You sound like you're ready to make a change now.. I would clear the cupboards of all junk and meal plan then do an online shop of everything you need and nothing more. Take it week by week.

What helped me?

Prepare meals when your energy levels are higher if you can. And make sure you have easy healthy things in the fridge to reach for when you’re tired.

For me energy levels peak first thing in the morning. So I prep dinner first thing to reheat or cook off later on. Also cook any veg that needs using up, and I always keep a cooked grain in my fridge such as couscous so I can put together a colourful Buddha bowl quickly when I’m tired.

Take a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement. Deficiencies can make cravings worse.

Learn to build a proper salad that looks and tastes good.

I fasted for 48 hours once, drinking only water and keeping busy - and this helped reset my system to some extent. Worth a try.

Batch cooking is just as good. Slow cookers are also great.

I think you've made a good start already - you have acknowledged that your diet is crap and bad for your health, you know that it is due to laziness and lack of willpower, and you've got some good ideas about how to change things.
The van Tulleken podcasts are really good about the mental side of things.

But really, not going into a shop and buying the stuff in the first place should be a fairly easy change - there are many moments in that journey where you can decide to stop. Don't go in the shop. Don't go down the snack aisle. Don't take the product off the shelf.

"Don’t you feel sluggish? I ate crap at the weekend and craved fruit and veg!"

I had a thread similar to OP's a few years ago. I was torn to shreds on it!
A few people asked what you've asked and said they'd feel sluggish having after eating some bread rolls. I actually think those people may be slightly gluten intolerant or something. I've certainly never craved fruit and veg!

I don't think OP is going to make home made burgers every day. I think cooking from scratch every day isn't very realistic for someone who's not used to it, might live alone, might not even be home every evening. Batch cooking would make more sense and OP already cooks twice a week, which is more than I do!

"If you stop bringing rubbish food into the house then you won’t be tempted."

Ha ha ha. I don't buy junk food when I go food shopping, but there's nothing stopping me going to buy some Oreos on my way home from the pub or to eat when I'm out and about.
I never have biscuits for visitors because I can't control myself if I just have them in!

This is me too. I don't smoke or drink, I exercise pretty frequently, and I'm thin, but my diet is very bad. It always strikes me afresh when I spend a day with friends and they actually just eat 3 meals rather than the 3 meals plus some Haribo and 7 Oreos and 3 packs of Wotsits and a few cans of Coke Zero and then a tube of Smarties.

I think you need to get into the habit of cooking every day from scratch, or at-least most days. They don’t have to be fancy meals, just basic ones. You can make your own home made burgers, healthy kebabs and take away style meals all at home.
Pinch of nom and Slimming eats are good for recipes. Gousto and Hello fresh boxes are also really handy if you can afford it.

Don't beat yourself up. You are tired, doing an essential and difficult job, its not surprising you'd hunger for sugar. I think conveninent solutions are going to be your friend given your work. Do you like popcorn, carrot/veg sticks, falafels or chick pea/lentil snacks?